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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 102673-102674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30300]



                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 102673]]

                Proclamation 10872 of December 13, 2024

                
Bill of Rights Day, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America is the only country in the world founded on an 
                idea: that we are all created equal and deserve to be 
                treated equally throughout our lives. Two hundred and 
                thirty-three years ago today, that idea was at the 
                heart of our Nation's Bill of Rights, launching the 
                greatest self-government experiment in the history of 
                the world and endowing all of us with fundamental 
                rights and liberties. Today, we recommit to 
                safeguarding those first 10 freedoms guaranteed by the 
                Bill of Rights and all the progress we have made to 
                protect Americans since.

                The freedoms guaranteed to us in the Bill of Rights 
                help define the soul of our Nation. The first 10 
                Amendments to the United States Constitution include 
                the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and 
                privacy, which form our Nation's north star. And the 17 
                additional Amendments that came later helped our Nation 
                realize its promise of liberty and justice for all--
                from abolishing our Nation's original sin of slavery to 
                giving women the right to vote.

                But freedom is never guaranteed--every generation has 
                had to defend and fight for it. In recent years, long-
                established civil rights principles and protections 
                have been undermined and challenged. The Supreme Court 
                gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, opening the 
                floodgates to a new wave of restrictive voting laws 
                that States across the country have passed. Anti-
                LGBTQI+ rights bills have emboldened discrimination 
                against Americans for who they are and whom they love. 
                And in 2022, the Court overruled Roe v. Wade and took 
                away the constitutional right to choose, which had been 
                the law of the land for nearly 50 years.

                As President, I made it my mission to protect our 
                democracy and the freedoms it guarantees. When the 
                Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, I took executive 
                action to protect women's access to reproductive health 
                care. To protect the will of the people, right to vote, 
                and have that vote counted--which is the threshold of 
                democracy and liberty--I signed the Electoral Count 
                Reform Act to ensure the peaceful transfer of power. 
                And to protect the civil rights and liberties of 
                LGBTQI+ Americans, I signed the landmark Respect for 
                Marriage Act, upholding the rights of same-sex and 
                interracial couples. But there is still more to do to 
                ensure that our Nation respects the civil rights and 
                liberties of all Americans. I continue to call on the 
                Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in 
                Federal law and pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the 
                John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

                On Bill of Rights Day, we recommit to protecting and 
                expanding Americans' civil rights and liberties. We 
                must continue fighting for progress and following our 
                Nation's north star, securing dignity and respect for 
                all Americans. And we must continue to strengthen the 
                guardrails of our democracy, ensuring that our Nation 
                and all the freedoms it guarantees will be enjoyed for 
                generations to come. I know we can do it--because 
                together, nothing is beyond our capacity.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution

[[Page 102674]]

                and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim 
                December 15, 2024, as Bill of Rights Day. I call upon 
                the people of the United States to observe this day 
                with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-30300
Filed 12-17-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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